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How to text multiple people at once in separate messages on iPhone

Text multiple people at once in separate messages with the Mass Message shortcut

The Mass Message shortcut sends your custom text message to multiple recipients through the Messages app - but individually, in separate messages. This solves one of the biggest complaints about the stock Messages app, which supports group chatting but won't let you text multiple recipients simultaneously via individual messages.

Here's how to individually text several recipients at once from your iPhone or iPad.

Send Separately streamlines bulk messaging without the headache of group conversations

Upon refreshing your Cydia sources, you may happen upon a new free jailbreak tweak called Send Separately by iOS developer NeinZedd9.

Although it seems like a subtle tweak at first glance, don’t be fooled. Send Separately can potentially save you a ton of time and frustration when sending bulk messages to friends and family, such as during holidays or special events.

iOS 12 lets developers create extensions for reporting unwanted texts and calls as spam

iOS 10 included a CallKit framework that brought a system-wide way for customers to use specialized apps on their iPhone, like Hiya and TrueCaller, that automatically identify and block nuisance calls before the phone even rings. With iOS 12, Apple started allowing developers to write new types of call-blocking extensions that gather information from the user before deciding whether to report or block the number.

Navatar brings messaging avatars to unsupported devices

If you use the native Messages app to send iMessages or SMS messages from your iPhone, then you may have noticed the avatar that generally appears in the navigation bar. When you have a contact picture configured for the recipient, that picture displays here; otherwise, you’d see the recipient’s first and last initials instead.

Apple stopped supporting this feature on smaller handsets like the iPhone 5s and earlier with some of the latest iterations of iOS, limiting it to larger-displayed devices such as the iPhone 6 and later. On the other hand, a new free jailbreak tweak dubbed Navatar by iOS developer EthanRDoesMC changes that.

This tweak removes the app bar from the iOS 11 Messages app

One of my most significant quarrels with iOS 11 is the app bar that appears at the bottom of the Messages app. I never use extensions while iMessaging friends and family, so it feels somewhat intrusive to me that Apple pushes the app bar down my throat in every conversation.

Anyone in agreeance may want to try a new free jailbreak tweak called NoMoreAppBar by iOS developer Reed Haffner. Just as the name implies, this tweak removes the app bar from the iOS 11 Messages app.

This tweak protects jailbroken devices from the Telugu character bug

If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, then you might’ve caught wind about a severe bug that crashes iPhones and iPads when a particular Telugu character gets sent or received in emails or text messages.

Apple plans to fix this bug in a future update for iOS, but firmware updates aren’t ideal for jailbreakers that depend on older firmware versions, and that’s where a new free jailbreak tweak called NotTodaySatan by iOS developer Zack Hankewycz comes in.

Force authentication from your iMessage recipient with MsgL0ck

Some people take their privacy more seriously than others, and a new iMessage extension dubbed MsgL0ck by iOS developer Simon Andersson takes that sentiment into consideration.

MsgL0ck lets the sender require authentication from the iMessage recipient before they can read the message. In Apple-speak, this means providing a fingerprint for Touch ID or a facial scan for Face ID (or a passcode if the recipient has neither).